Reflection on Today's Readings, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, Monday 25th January, 2021
Texts:Acts 22:3-16 or 9:1-22; Ps. 117:1.2; Mark 16:15-18
Today, we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul. The celebration reminds us that no one is condemned until death. He was a man who persecuted the Church with all his strength and might. In today's first reading, he says, "I persecuted this way to death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women". If God could make use of such a great enemy of the Church, it tells us that God has no favourite, He could use anyone for his glory. From St. Paul's life, we come to know that what God needs to use us is zeal for Him and willingness to give up oneself for Him. St. Paul, as Saul, was already burning with zeal for God and had the willingness to serve God, his conversion only opened for him new channel. With his conversion he got to know that for the period of time he had persecuted the Church, he had misdirected his passion for God. His conversion brought him new orientation, new view of life, from that time on he started to see the world and himself as Jesus sees it. With his conversion he was enlightened and found a new meaning in Judaism; he got to know that Judaism was looking forward to Jesus Christ; he found Jesus Christ at the centre of Judaism, there is no longer difference between the faith in Judaism and Jesus Christ; he got to know that the faith in Judaism reached its perfection in Jesus Christ. In the conversion of St. Paul we come to know what conversion means. Conversion means new orientation, new approach to life, new world view; it means finding Jesus Christ at the centre of one's life and the creation; it means seeing things the way Jesus sees it.
In the reading, he narrated how he got converted. His encounter with Jesus while he was on assignment to persecute Christians led to his conversion. For him, his conversion should be a proof to his brother Jews that the faith in Jesus Christ is sound and true. Hence, he attempted to make them understand how his conversion took place so as to win them for Jesus Christ. His conversion is also a proof to us also today that our faith is sound and true, for somebody like Paul, with his zeal for Judaism, would not have embraced the faith if not by divine intervention. His conversion shows that heaven is in support of the faith in Jesus Christ; it shows that the faith in Jesus Christ is not a mere conjecture but a revelation from heaven, God Himself. Hence, his conversion calls us to take our faith seriously; it makes us to value and appreciate our faith.
Today's gospel reading reminds us that anyone who believes the gospel and is baptised is saved. Hence, the gospel reading affirms that Paul is truly saved, for the first reading tells us that he believed and was baptized. The gospel reading also reminds us that we are sent, just like Paul, to preach the gospel to the whole creation. St. Paul becomes for us an example of what Christians should be. Today we are also called to a genuine conversion, for some of us are still fake; we claim the name 'Christian' but not yet converted. We are called to stop misdirecting our energy and passion; we are to focus our energy and passion on serving God in Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the gift of St. Paul to the Church, grant that we may have his zeal and passion for you. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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